April 03, 2012

"If Bhagat Singh could sacrifice his life for the country, what's a chair?" said Dinesh Trivedi, when asked would he have to quit if his Railway Budget was shot down by his party leader, the mercurial Mamata Banerjee. Mr Trivedi's Budget had outlined a path for modernization, safety and profitability of the Indian Railways which included the first fare hike in nine years. Mr Trivedi had to resign and the fare hike was almost entirely rolled back, even though the Indian Railway, as he says, is "in the ICU". But his action has created a new hero for ordinary Indians.

Date: Monday, 16 April 2012

Former Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi will speak on:
Country, Before Party and Self

He will speak on why his budget was important for the Railways and the consequence of coalition politics where key ministries are distributed like fiefs to political allies. This will be followed a one-hour public interaction.

Speaker’s Profile: An alumni from Xaviers College, Kolkata and an MBA from The University of Texas, Mr Trivedi returned to India after a stint of working in the US. He started an air frieght company in Kolkata and has always been keenly interested in consumer issues. He also started a consumer protection centre at his office. Mr Trivedi shot into prominence when he petitioned the Supreme Court to make the Vohra report on the criminalisation of politics in India public. This gave a push to the Right to Information (RTI) movement. Mr Trivedi has been in the Parliament since 1990. A pilot, a golfer, a connoisseur of classical music, Dinesh Trivedi has always been outspoken in favour of the ordinary person.